The Powers that bind us
by fox's apprentice
Summary: Right before the chunin exams take place team 7's genin are mysteriously killed. This is how young Sakura finds herself to be in the soul society with her zanpakuto Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura is considered a kido prodigy but what happens when that prodigy disapears only to reappear with a certain substitute soul reaper.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- The Beginning

The rain poured down all around soaking me to the bone and plastering my long pastel locks to my face and back. I clutched my knees to my chest trying to draw what bit of warmth I could. 'Sasuke isn't fire suppose too be your thing' I wined inside my head shivering on the outside. 'It's raining you idiot what do you expect me to do' he said back to me clearly annoyed with both the situation…..and me 'that still doesn't change the fact that we're freezing out here' I called back to him not paying attention to the people that where walking past me. I knew they wouldn't help no one ever did.

'You think I don't know that we're freezing, when did that suddenly become my problem you're the one in charge here not us'

'Why you little…'

'Come on guys stop fighting'

I was so consumed in the argument going on in my head that I never noticed the man that stopped right in front of me until something warm and thick dropped on my head, I grabbed the edge and pulled it off realizing it was an oversized pink kimono and quickly huddling deeper inside it. I looked up to see a man in a white Captains haori crouch down in front of me.

"Hey kid" he said putting his hand on top of my head "what are you doing out here in the rain" he asked looking at me with a stern expression on his face.

"I…I don't have anywhere else to go" I stuttered out looking at him with wide curious eyes. I wasn't sure why this man was being so kind to me, but it was the first time in a long time that anyone had done anything for me.

"Well that just won't do" he said leaning back and scratching his head "well here" he said rising to his feet" I can at least get you something to eat and you're probably going to need some warmer clothes" I could help but stare as he began walking away mumbling to himself.

"Hey kid" he called looking over his shoulder "what are you still doing on the ground" "Ah..h….sorry" I said jumping up and putting the kimono around my shoulders and rushing after the man stumbling slightly in my haste.

He took me to a little ramen stand that stood less than a mile from where I had been before. We both hurried in to free ourselves of the rain. I hopped up on one of the stools welcoming the warmth that the entire place radiated as a large sense of nostalgia overcame me.

'Don't you remember Sakura-Chan…?' Naruto chirped happily from inside my head. 'We used to eat here all the ti..' he started again but was cut off by Sasuke.

'Shut up you idiot of course she doesn't remember, Sakura you may want to pay more attention it seems the man is speaking' Sasuke cut through gaining the attention of both of us causing me to notice that the man was staring at me expectantly.

"U..umm I'm sorry did you say something" I exclaimed almost falling out of my seat in embarrassment. He stared at me for a second before a lazy grin spread across his face.

"No nothing at all" he said turning back around just in time for a woman to bring two large bowls of steaming ramen. I couldn't help but dig into the food as soon as it was offered to me. Outside of my body I could hear the man chuckling softly at my eagerness while he ate his food at a much slower pace, but on the inside I could hear nothing but Naruto's continuous chanting of ramen, I soon blocked both out. I can truly say in that moment that I found bliss in the warm sustenance that ran down my throat, it was the first time in years since I had warm food that I didn't have to hunt myself.

I was so caught up in my meal that I didn't notice the quick glances that were being tossed my way by the other customers or the even longer look that was being given by the man standing right next to me.

"So how long have you been living on the streets" he asked me without hesitation, therefor I decided to answer him in the same fashion.

"As long as I can remember" I answered nonchalantly not once did I look up from the table as a second bowl of ramen was brought to me. I ate this one slower, taking time to enjoy the taste of it. I knew that I would probably be right back where I started after this. The man would have fulfilled his momentary act of charity and whatever guilty conscious he had would have been subsided and he would leave me to go my own way. With that conclusion in mind I was completely unprepared for what he said next.

"How would you like it if you never had to again" I sat up pin straight and let my chopsticks clatter to the table. What did he mean how would I like it, I would love it but that was impossible. I had no name I could never get a home I could never go anywhere and I could never be anyone. That was the world we lived in, unless you had a family name you could never go anywhere except down.

"What kind of joke is this, what do you mean…"

"It's not a joke you have potential you just need to train it"

"Train it to be what exactly" I asked becoming skeptical of his intentions.

"To become a shinigami" he said with all the finality in the world. I didn't even have time to respond when he stood up paying for both of our meals and beginning to walk out of the shop and into the now sunny street.

"W-wait what-" I began to say jumping out of my seat and starting after him.

"You'll find everything you need in the kimono, you can give me that back later by the way" he said looking over his shoulder at me as he held open the flap before he left walking out into the streets. I ran after him wanting more answers but he disappeared in the blink of an eye. That was the last I saw of him.

~3 months later ~

At first I was skeptical about the words of who I later found out was Captain Shunsui Kyouraku but he was right about one thing when I checked the kimono everything I could need was in there including a signed form saying that I could leave the district to join the academy, a list of instructions on what shops I would need to go into based on his recommendations and directions on how to get to the meet point for the academy students, and a strange badge that I later found was wired directly to the Captains banking account suffice to say I never went hungry after that.

After much argument with Sasuke and Naruto I decided that it was in my best interests to take the captains advice. I wasn't an idiot I knew that on my own I wouldn't survive for very long and I knew that a chance like this only came every once in a while, I didn't intend to waste it. My first step was to follow his advice and get some slightly warmer clothes although with the captain's kimono I didn't have to worry about it too much. I ended up buying a simple red kimono that fell loosely on my shoulders and reached slightly above my knees, the sleeves where long going far past my hands, and it was trimmed simply in black with a black tie. Underneath that I had on a pair of black tights and a tight black sleeveless turtle neck shirt, to top it all off I wore a simple pair of black sandals.

My next stop was to buy an assortment of weapons, this of course is where Sasuke came in. I walked into the expansive shop, my sandals somehow staying silent against the wood flooring. I gazed around me completely unsure of what it was I needed. This meant that I ended up with a very angry Sasuke.

"No not those you idiot…"

"That's way too big for you…."

"You wouldn't even be able to lift that.."

"We are NOT wasting money on that cheap knock-off….."

Let's just say by the time he was done with me I had a weapon pouch full of kunai knives, a katana and a headache the size of the seretei.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Finding a Name

It took about three months to get where I was now at the final gate having my paperwork looked over. I had trained hard and found out that evidently I'm quite good with projectiles much to Sasuke's pleasure I caught on quite well in that aspect. The katana on the other hand was a bit of a struggle and without Sasuke physically standing right next to me it was a task that had at first promised to be impossible, this of course is where the zanpakuto thing came in handy. We figured out that when I slept that I could visit them in my dreams in a very real setting. It was there that most of my practicing took place, and where I started to remember. It wasn't much just small tidbits here and there but it was enough to make me fight even harder to get here.

"Your paperwork ma'am" the small man in front of me spoke up in a nasally voice that cut through my daydreaming. I quickly riffled through my bag pulling out the necessary paperwork before handing it over to the gatesmen.

"here you go sir" I said in a small voice. I began feeling a sense of joy bubble up inside of me at the sight of the final gate that would lead me to the academy. But there was also a bit of fear because I knew that the closer I got the more it would hurt if I failed. Not that I want to jinx it or anything.

"Okay everything looks to be in order we're just going to need your name" he told me with a pen hovering over the paper that would sign my freedom.

"Sakura…." I said with a slight waver beginning to regret my decision. 'I should have known it wouldn't be this simple, after all someone with no name could never be a shinigami'.

"Sakura…." He continued on waving his hands in an expectant manner beginning to look exasperated and as I looked beyond him I could see the guards begin to raise their blades in expectation.

'Come on Sakura-Chan think of something, we can't give up yet'

'I agree with the dobe you're not a complete idiot figure it out'

I racked my brain trying to think of something I could use and not for the first time trying to remember my own name. I was about to give up when I remembered a face or at least part of a face, and the name that went with it. It was perfect no one would ever find out.

" Hatake" I cried out suddenly startling the man and causing him to jump slightly in his seat "Sakura Hatake" I said once more confidently. He scribbled down a few things on the paper before handing it back to me and signaling the guards to open the gates .

"Ok Miss Hatake that will be all, you may go" he said though I still detected a bit of suspicion in his voice, with that knowledge I decided it in my bet interest to hurry. I quickly scurried past the guards into a wide expanse of grassland and in the distance I could make out a mountain line covered in mist where I suspect the school to be held, or at least part of it, underneath that there was a long green stretch of forest which according to my map is where I'm suppose too meet with the other prospective students. With that thought I began my long trek to join at the meeting point.

When I arrived there I say a large group of men had already arrived , there were a few women there but not many and most certainly none even close to my age. No one seemed to notice me yet so I jumped up into one of the nearby trees so that I could sit and observe the other students without being noticed. Most of them were either way to dull and dreary or way too arrogant and I could already figure out which ones weren't going to make it. There were of course a few that caught my attention. There was one man leaning against a boulder separated from the rest of the group that seemed to have the same idea as me so while he was observing the rest of the group I settled on observing him. He had long black hair that was tied back and hung loosely over his shoulder, his skin was a sickly pale color, and he was wearing simply black clothing that allowed him to blend well into the shadows but what struck me most where his ruby red eyes…that…..were…staring…right…at me. CRAP!

I tried my best to hid jumping to a different tree but hi eyes kept following me, at this point I had gained the attention of two other members of the group. A man, that looked surprisingly like Naruto, and a woman with flaming red hair. Both of them seemed to be dressed rather nicely and held themselves with an air of confidence that much different than the other arrogant slobs here. They seemed to be laughing at us both as I continued to try and escaped the man with the red eyes.

"Itachi ass amusing as this is you may want to let off, I'm not quite sure how well her landings going to be if you keep making her speed up" the blond headed man spoke with mirth obvious in his voice, and he was true I could feel my control beginning to slip away and I don't think it would look very good if I hurt myself before training even started.

The man whom I now knew to be called Itachi let out a puff of air before he turned away from me finally and continued his research of the other occupants. I let out a sigh of relief from my crouching position in one of the higher branched trees.

"He can be quite the nuisance sometimes" I masculine voice said from behind me causing me to lose my footing and plummet down towards the earth. Looking up I could see that it was the blond man from earlier that had spoken and was now looking down at me n concern, he looked ready to jump down to my rescue when at the last second I reached up and grabbed onto a branch as it passed me, swinging around to land on the branch in as much of graceful manner as I could muster.

"Don't sneak up on me like that" I yelled up at the man slightly perturbed with the experience as a whole, I let him know this by letting lose my best death glare. You know what he did , he laughed at me!

"I like you kid you've got spunk" he said with a wide grin on his face before disappearing and reappearing almost instantly right in front of me. I let out a squeak and launch myself the rest of the way off the tree to land in the clearing with everyone else, if they didn't notice me before they sure did now.

"Is the concept of personal space so hard to understand" I yelled at him as he calmly jumped out of the tree and began a slow walk in my direction.

"No it isn't but personal space isn't a luxury you're going to have anymore, no one's going to care about your personal space when they go for your throat" he said in a deadly voice that made me wonder for the first time if maybe getting past that gate earlier was really the biggest challenge to getting into the academy.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- Obviously I own nothing

Chapter 3- Into the darkness

I stared blankly ahead of me from my new perch, this time making sure to keep myself far away from the strange blonde man and his companions. They were all clustered together under the shade keeping a distance from the rest of the men who were at this point getting restless. No one knew what was to happen or what we were supposed to do. The sun was beginning to set and the first stars of the night began to make their way into the horizon. That was when it began.

The earth began to quake and the tree that I was sitting in began to topple over. I hopped out of it quickly, and to my despair had no choice but to land amongst the group of men. All around us rocks were splitting open and trees were falling over until suddenly it all stopped and a loud booming voice could be heard over head of us as if it were coming from the sky itself.

"MEN YOU HAVE ALL COME HERE OF YOUR OWN WILL WITH THE HOPES OF JOINING THE SHINIGAMI RANKS" I saw a few of the men grumble angrily when he mentioned free will "THIS WILL NOT BE SOMETHING THST IS EASILY ACHIEVED. YOU MUST FIRST FIGHT YOUR WAY THORUGH THE FOREST THAT IS LAID AHEAD OF YOU, EACH OF THE CAPTAINS HAVE SET UP A TEST THAT YOU MUST PASS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. IF YOU MANAGE TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE FOREST TO THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL YOU BE ACCEPTED AS STUDENTS." I saw a few of the men send sideways glances my way with malicious grins on their faces and I realized how right blondie had been. Once this test started I would be the first target, there is no mercy amongst beasts. I crouched forward slightly, not enough to be noticed, and prepared myself to leap forward out of their grasps, I started to finger my kunai pouch ready to make a move as quickly as need be. "BEGIN" and we were off.

I shot into the forest like a bullet not willing to let anyone catch me just yet, I hopped up to the highest canopies of the trees so that I would be all but invisible to the others while I on the other hand had a perfect view.

"This is a pretty nice plan if I do say so myself" I heard that dreaded voice say from behind me, I spun around quickly and found the blond man and the red head standing there with grins on their faces. I tried to back away but I ended up bumping into a warm body that when I spun around I saw the boy from before, itachi, standing behind me resolute.

"What do you want?" I demanded of them with a hard glint in my eyes while inside Sasuke and Naruto were already fighting over battle strategies.

"Calm down girly if we wanted you dead we wouldn't have let you see us, we just want to talk" the redhead said I think she was trying to reassure me but at the same time I could see her reaching for the blade at her waist, obviously she expected me to fight.

"Talk about what" I asked suspiciously beginning to slide out one of the knives I had hidden in my sleeve.

"A truce of sorts" this time is was the blonde" the way I see it there are plenty of spots open in the academy and the best way to obtain one of those spots is by working together. Now I don't know about you but I truthfully don't completely trust those idiots down there not to kill me in my sleep."

"And what's to stop you'

"I give you my word as a Namikaze that I will not kill you in your sleep if you agree to work with me, that goes for these two as well" I widened my eyes a bit when he used his family name, I may have lived in the streets but even I knew about the namikaze's they were one of the oldest families in the seretei and well known for keeping their word

'Sasuke Naruto what do you think should we trust them'

'Hm he wouldn't risk his family name by going against his word but then of course who would ever know if he did those two are obviously aligned with him'

'Man Sasuke why you always got to be so negative. I like him Sakura besides if he tries to kill us then all we have to do is kill him, simple'

'Are you saying that because you actually like him or because you want to disagree with Sasuke'

'Hehe both'

'Idiot'

'What was that Sasuke'

'You heard me I.D. '

'Why I outta….'

'Guys you're not helping'

"So what do you say girly"

"Fine I'll work with you but one wrong move and your dead" this seemed to amuse the other two a great deal.

"Heh as if a little girl like you could ever hurt one of us" Itachi proclaimed smugly

I moved in a flash before he could even react to my movement I leaped towards him. Whispering Sasukes' name under my breath I felt lighting dance around my finger-tips, I landed in a crouched position and spread my fingers apart before thrusting them forward watching satisfied as electricity shot forward and attached itself to Itachi like a net binding him to the tree behind him. I rose up slowly before staring him dead in the eyes.

"You were saying little boy"

'Yay you show them Sakura-chan'

'heh that will show him not to underestimate us again'

"So you know how to use shhikai, I thought your spiritual energy felt a bit strong and now we know why" the namikaze said sounding impressed.

'He should be impressed, were super ninjas right Sasuke'

'hm'

I had turned around to face the other two when blondie spoke up and I could now hear a sizzle and pop from behind me which, when I turned my head slightly to look, turned out to be a very disgruntled Itachi breaking out of his bindings.

"This proves nothing"

'Arrogant bastard'

'Proves nothing! Why I outta…..LET ME AT EM'

"hm" I didn't intend to give him anymore answer than that , he wasn't worth it.

'So I believe introductions are in order" blondie said looking way too cheerful all of a sudden " My names Minato and this lovely Goddess is my wife Kushina" said goddess looked ready to punch him were it not for the death grip he now had on her " and that sour looking shadow back there is Itachi Uchiha" he was looking at me now with a dare in his eyes like he was expecting me to lie "And what would your name be".

"Sakura Hatake"

'Sasuke Uchiha'

'Naruto Uzumaki….BELEIVE IT'


End file.
